Winterhavens in Arizona

"The saddest summary of a life contains three descriptions;
could have, might have and should have."
Louis e. Boone

Arizona's Superstition Mountains 

Arizona...where summer spends the winter and hell spends the summer, where water is king and any shade tree is queen and where legions of snowbirds choose to do their sun dance. 
Deciding to make a winter trip to Arizona became a total go when we learned that our goddaughter Ellie would be participating in a team volleyball tournament at the Arizona Cardinal's home turf, State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. We also knew it may be months before we could travel again as we had accepted a spring hosting position at Hearst San Simeon State Park. So as the saying goes, "one who lives sees much, one who travels sees more."

After dry camping in the parking lot of one of our favorite eateries, Peggy Sue's Diner in Yermo, we pointed our noses toward Parker Arizona and Buckskin Mountain State Park. Buckskin is located right on the banks of the Colorado River. As we planned on staying only one night, we chose the lightly used overflow parking area. No hook ups were necessary as our solar panels were going bonkers with all the direct sunshine and we were right next to our own "private" bathroom and showers (no one else used them). The beach below us had a sparse lawn, but it was a great lounging pad for Sydney and Kiah.

Imkelina can be relentless at seeking out boon docking locations (thank you Denise Big Dog), so it was not a surprise that she scooped up Vulture Mine Road, in Wickenburg, AZ. As it was late afternoon, a number of rigs had already marked off their desert hideaway, leaving available a few less desirable pads. So rather than settle, we just moseyed down the road a block or so and found a perfect and very private campsite. A welcome home fire pit was already built and ready to be fueled. The desert has its holiness of silence, with landscape views being its voice... and our little piece of sand proved to be the perfect chapel. 

Cactus Wrens surrounded our campsite

We had read so many wonderful reviews of the camping experiences at Arizona's Maricopa County Parks that Imkelina set her sights on one of these parks to stimulate her always curious mind. She chose White Tank Mountain Regional Park as it was the closest to Ellie's volleyball tournament venue. Nearly 30,000 acres make this the largest regional park in Maricopa County. Most of the park is made up of the rugged and beautiful White Tank Mountains, a range deeply serrated with ridges and canyons. The park offers approximately 25 miles of groomed trails with difficulty ratings geared toward every hiker's experience level. We found a great site with a wonderful view of the mountains, had a grassy knoll that Sydney and Kiah loved...lizards were under every rock and we even had a coyote or two prance by. The desert was beautiful, as the flora was painted with an array on cactus flowers. And the  trailheads of different hikes were scattered throughout the park, a few right from our campground loop. 

WeBeGone found a stadium parking spot in an isolated lot walking distance to the entrance...close for "beer" breaks. Sydney and Kiah volunteered to "guard" our rig, but their comfy front seat beds guaranteed a nap was more alluring than guarding.

Stadium Floor

Our Ellie in the center

We entered the stadium, walking down a number of floors to ground level and then entered a world of chaos, high pitch screams, loud cheers and it seemed like hundreds of airborne volleyballs. We had never been to a club volleyball tournament and we were shocked to see how grand of a production this was. First the stadium is huge, you have over 32 courts, a dozen athletes per team, coaches, vendors, family, friends and walk in spectators all integrated into a playing field...a human ant farm. What a blast to be part of a combination of madness, excitement and fun. Ellie's team did not come out on top, but she and her team played hard and we had a great time with family, Daryl, Kate and Charlotte. But after two days in the asphalt jungle pulsating with traffic and crowds, it was time to bid farewell to our loved ones and head out toward Lost Dutchman State Park.

The WeBeGone's morning view of the west face of Superstition Mountains

Propector's View Trail

Many years ago, when life was black and white, I realized that in order to accept the spectacular scenes that my eyes beheld, I had to “unleash” my mind…I had to surrender. Only then could I embrace and appreciate the gift and beauty of nature. Well, Lost Dutchman State Park is a place where one can exercise that ability to be here now. This park was high on our list of “need to see Arizona State Parks.” Have you ever seen the photos used to illustrate the Superstition Mountains? Well we were parked right in that viewfinder's lane... awakening each morning to the views of that majestic rock face, in a position to see it, touch it and walk it's trails in real time. 

Gambel's Quail

Javalina

Along with the miles and miles of trails that traverse through this Sonoran Desert landscape, you also have a diverse number of wild characters surrounding you...using your campsite as their own personal trailhead.

rising moon

"Snow" Moon

setting moon

And although we did not locate the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine, we did find a bigger treasure, the Snow Super Moon. It bathed us with some beautiful moon beams each evening.

Our Arizona ventures would not be complete without finding a way to gather with a few of our favorite Oregonians ... snow birding or living in sunny, warm Arizona. Ha, no shorts and flip flops in the desert this time...snow, rain, blustery winds, cool temperatures. But we stayed warm and dry with a few Margaritas and growlers. We celebrated Mel and Carol's birthdays, spent a day taking in the outstanding Musical Instrument Museum and caught up on each other's ever changing lives. By the time we pointed West back to California, the warm, sunny days had returned.

Route 66

We found the perfect boon docking spot right off Old Highway Route 66...Amboy Crater. This 250 foot high volcanic cinder cone nestled within the Mojave Desert is said to be approximately 6,000 years old. A desolate and surreal landscape, but alive...Imke's trail walk to the cinder cone rewarded her with many surprising plots of wildflowers growing within the lava fields. 

Unbeknownst to us at the time, this would turn out to be the final adventure in our "little" WeBeGone. During our stint of camp hosting at San Simeon State Park, we made an easy decision...let's full-time again. So in order to uphold our wedding vows it meant we needed a tad larger coach to co-exist...here she is below...nice ass, huh. More to come from the "big" WeBeGon.

At Waypoint 33.4475º N, 111.1937º W